Peter Murphy, Sisters of Mercy, Type O Negative, The Mission, Paradise Lost If you're a fan of any of these bands then there's a good chance that Bloody Hammers are right up your alley.
The cover of the album suggests a horror theme and the write up in the electronic press kit describes Swedish duo Bloody Hammers as a Horror Sleaze Rock outfit which to this reviewer's way of thinking suggests either the horror punk style of The Misfits or the B-movie rockabilly celebratory sleaze of The Cramps however this is really just Gothic rock with keyboards. There's no denying that Anders Manga does indeed have a bombastic powerful voice but whilst listening to his crooning it's impossible not to think he borrows heavily from the Gothic books of Peter (that's Peter Murphy and Peter Steele if you hadn't already guessed. His wife Devalia provides the synthesizer sounds. The album's opener "Gates of Hell" has an industrial rock beat not far from Marilyn Manson's "Anti-Christ Superstar" album but the vocals have the witching quality of Andrew Eldritch. "The Beyond" sounds a lot like a Peter Murphy solo track as it has a poppy edge but the hooks aren't as instant or catchy although there is a sense of wondrous gloom. The strongest song on this six song release is the album closer, "The Bloodsucker Leads The Dance" with its organ opening reminding one of early horror movies and the slow foreboding beat that makes you ponder whether The Doors were vampires.o
While there are a number of great ideas of this EP, most listeners familiar with the artists mentioned at the start of this review are just going to want to listen to the artists the Hammers take their inspiration from. Now where is that Joy Division CD?
2.5/5
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